isn't it amazing what you learn on navy websites....
You have probably heard the expression 'Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey' , but what does it mean?
In the 17th and 18th centuries, cannon balls were stored on the decks of a war-ship in a pyramid shaped pile using a frame called a monkey to keep them in place. Sometimes these frames were made of brass, which could contract substantially in very cold weather and the balls would roll out of the frames. Hence the expression!
http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.3806
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